November 2018 Austin Rent Report

Welcome to the November 2018 Austin Rent Report. Austin rents increased over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Austin rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.

November 2018 Austin Rent Report

Welcome to the November 2018 Austin Rent Report. Austin rents increased over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Austin rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.

Austin rents increased moderately over the past month

Austin rents have increased 0.3% over the past month, and have increased moderately by 2.3% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Austin stand at $1,150 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,420 for a two-bedroom. This is the ninth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in January. Austin's year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 1.5%, as well as the national average of 1.1%.

Rents rising across cities in Texas

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Austin, but across the entire state. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in Texas, 8 of them have seen prices rise. The state as a whole logged rent growth of 1.5% over the past year. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.

Looking throughout the state, Plano is the most expensive of all Texas' major cities, with a median two-bedroom rent of $1,430; of the 10 largest cities in Texas that we have data for, Lubbock and El Paso, where two-bedrooms go for $820 and $830, are the only two major cities in the state to see rents fall year-over-year (-1.0% and -0.8%).

Corpus Christi, Arlington, and Austin have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (3.1%, 2.8%, and 2.3%, respectively).

Comparable cities nationwide show more affordable rents compared to Austin

As rents have increased moderately in Austin, a few similar cities nationwide have seen rents grow more modestly, or in some cases, even decline. Compared to most other large cities across the country, Austin is less affordable for renters.

Austin's median two-bedroom rent of $1,420 is above the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.1% over the past year compared to the 2.3% increase in Austin.

While Austin's rents rose moderately over the past year, the city of Seattle saw a decrease of 1.3%.

Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Austin than most similar cities. For example, Detroit has a median 2BR rent of $890, where Austin is more than one-and-a-half times that price.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

City

Median 1BR price

Median 2BR price

M/M price change

Y/Y price change

Austin

$1,150

$1,420

0.3%

2.3%

Round Rock

$1,240

$1,530

-0.0%

1.0%

Cedar Park

$1,330

$1,640

0.5%

2.6%

Georgetown

$1,210

$1,500

0.4%

0.7%

Pflugerville

$1,250

$1,550

0.9%

1.7%

San Marcos

$960

$1,190

-0.5%

1.9%

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.